Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen!
I am on record all over the place stating that 2009 will be a
record year for domain sales. I believe that the conditions will make it
actually blow the doors off of pervious years. We won’t know until January, but
I want to be crystal clear in what I see. I mean BLOW THE DOORS OFF!
Now, as for the TRAFFIC auctions, I was hoping to quietly
look at a couple of domains. Let me be on record as saying there is some major
gem in there. There are some bargains in there. I believe at least one domain
will go for over 7 figures.
What everyone thought would be a lack luster auction in New
York is going to turn into a battle royale. Two good companies each with some
major headlining domains. Like in cards, we are about to see where the power is
in the industry. Not as far as the
auction companies, but as far as the domainers bidding. I think we will walk
away with some real HUGE deals. REAL excitement. Folks will be coming out of
their chairs on a few of the names that will go up. Wanna know why?? Low
reserves = higher selling prices. High reserves scare people off. The auction
process is one that needs to be trusted. The bidding is likely to be the most
active in several years.
I anticipate a battle for Rio.com. That baby is going to fly
over 7 figures. I would imagine this is going to be the single biggest bidding
war we have ever seen for any domain in the history of our auctions. That is
what I see. I don’t think anyone reading this would not value Rio.com higher
than $1M. I expect many folks to be bidding on this. I would advise those interested to team up if they hold any
chance of walking away with this domain.
So what do you say? What will Rio.com go for? The closest guess gets a free ticket to TRAFFIC 2010 in South Beach that we will be announcing in New York. Will be the first one registered for the event.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
Chef Patrick
$500k
Andy Booth
Rio.com will, in my opinion, reach $750,000 US.
Charley
This name will not SELL, is my guess.
mmm
No buyers, it won’t sell.
Ricky
$875,000 is my guess
BullS
Nada!!!
Not a bite.
Troy
655,000.
mitch
$1,100,000.
Grina
I will guess $1,125,000.
cue
My guess, rio.com will sell for $1,150,000.
This city is booming with success and opportunity. Oh yeah they also won the Olympics for 2016..
Michael
$499,999.99
Gazzip
Strange that Rio.com is up for sale, it looks like they are a big and busy business that still use the domain.
Looking at their website it does’nt sound like they’re closing down either.
Future
“RIO networks will out perform our competitors for generations to come.”
…anyway, my guestimate is $550,000 but I hope it goes for alot more.
Good Luck
Tim Davids
$769,001
Anthony
My guess $1,250,000.
GhettoCaveMan
$1.4m
Michael
$1,650,000
Shane Cultra
I’ll go with an even Million. $1,000,000
Andrew Douglas
$2.4 million
Chris Robbins
$855,000
KD
1.2 million
Lonnie
689,000
Lonnie
Tom
$3.1 million
Michael Roberts
510,000.00 USD
Michael
HighValueTransactions.com
sergio
$400,000
Leigh Ann
1.3 Million
Brady
$2.1 million
Ross
$377k
Realistically Brazil.com only sold for $500k so this would obviously be a lesser of the two despite the fact of the Olympics(which in my opinion does not matter at all)
Andrew Douglas
Brazil at $500k was way below it’s true value as the sale was rushed due to it being essentially a forced liquidation. It was also before the selection of Rio for the Olympics. If you think that’s not a big deal, I’m not sure we are on the same planet.
Rick Latona has already mentioned that they’ve spent months working on getting the right buyers to the table for this auction. I don’t think the sale of Brazil is a good indicator for Rio as they are totally different circumstances.
Jon
$ 2.6 million.
djidjica
1.7 million $.
Henrik
$ 1,450,000
AlanR
$3.6 million. That’s low compared to how much it will be worth in the next 5 years.
Kevin
Agree it could be $1Mil, but the market still has a limited amounted of buyers right now willing to go into million dollar land. Plus you can’t ignore the comp of Brazil.com going for only $500k, which sold way off it’s expected value.
$450,000 would be my guess just slightly under what Brazil went for.
Arbel
$625,000
t c
I think it will sell for $496,000.
I hope I win. That would rule!
Tony
$435,000
AndrewM
Hey All,
I’m going with $1.59M for Rio.com – a powerhouse 3 Letter .com domain name.
Andrew L.
My guess would be $825,000
a. perez
925000
Matt Rigney
$555,000
The Olympics is a big deal but it only lasts for a few months and people will forget about it fast. Plus it’s 7 years away, a lifetime for some.
Anunt
Rio.com will sell for $250,000
There will be no bidders in the reserve price range of $300k to $400k…so they will end up lowering the reserve price and end up selling it at $250k.
Alex W
$1,115,500
ben
895,000
Ed Keay-Smith
$1.9 Million
Robbie
If it sells, I would say $375k, Which I think is cheap for this name but the way the market is, There are only a few big buyers willing to put cash down.
I hope someone like Hotels.com know about this auction, These are the type of endusers that”Get It” and would help raise the price and turn the domain into a good property.
Just my thoughts!
Good Luck to the seller and the Traffic Team.
Kevin
$1.1
Kevin
Sorry, that was supposed to be $1.1mil
Kevin
We have 2 Kevins in this comment thread.
LOL
Farid Mammadov
1.4 mln USD
Charley
>>>> There will be no bidders in the reserve price range of $300k to $400k…so they will end up lowering the reserve price and end up selling it at $250k. <<<< Are you sure, they can lower the reserve price ? I thought it isn't possible after setting a price.
Stephen Douglas
Olympics notwithstanding, Rio.com is a nice 3 letter domain of a popular tourist destination. It will probably sell for about $650,000, with three bidders. (and no, I don’t have any inside info!)
Dave Wrixon aka Rubber Duck
Just goes to show most people are clueless on the value of this domain. Be interesting to see if Rick is one of them.
Somehow, I doubt it. There is going to a huge rush into assets associated with the BRIC economies and the dollar is likely to go a lot further South. Of course, technically, this is a non-English Domain, so perhaps a new record there as well.
Anyway Good Luck with the sale!
Graham
$999,999
eDomains
1.8 million
randomo
$685,000
Maybe to a Duran Duran fan. ;-)
UFO
$685,001
By a Non Duran Duran fan to keep its video’s off the site.. lol ;)
Jim
580,000
Donald M.
I predict $756,000. Let the games begin!
http://www.DomainOwl.com
Ze
$475.000
John
$1,239,900.00
Sc
$1,000,010
I agree with Rick that this is a big one. Maybe over 2 mil. Anyone that gets it for under 1 mil is getting a great deal.
AlanR
I know of at least 10 people in the domain industry who have the wisdom to see the long term value and the money to bid this up to at least $3 million. And if you figure in the half dozen or so endusers who could be there seeing the bidding frenzy, then this name could go well beyond my original estimate of $3.6 million. Whether I’m right or wrong, I’m shocked by all the low estimates which tells me there aren’t a lot of people in this business who have the insight to see the future. Yeah, the reality is the low prices we have seen but the future for the internet gets stronger everyday. Too many short term thinkers in this world!
Kevin
@ AlanR
I’m almost always an optimist, but this year I became a realist.
No one in domaining would bid Rio.com to $3 Million unless they were intoxicated at the time. LOL
Look at the comps for the year so far. You can count the million dollar sales on 1 1/2 hands.
It’s not a matter of being a short term thinker either. It’s the reality that no domain investor is willing to pay an astronomical price for a domain asset acquisition right now unless it’s something beyond beyond beyond incredible. And Rio.com is not that.
The only way Rio could go into 7 figs would be if a South American billionaire shows up and bids. You would need that kind of”price is no object” buyer where it’s a prestige purchase and not a business purchase. Then yes it could go into the mils.
nSathees
Rio.com 658,000.00
AlanR
Kevin
First, $3 million is pocket change for a lot of people. People pay $3 million for houses and property all day long around the world and it’s no big deal. Most of the time, there is no publicity involved with those sales so I can’t believe that it would be difficult to understand why someone would pay $3 million for Rio.com when it has so much more potential than buying a house or piece of property for that amount. Yes, the majority of people don’t get how important domains are but there are enough people in this industry who get it. And as you and I know, people have spent over a million for a domain and got laughed at but got the last laugh! Now with the Olympics coming, then the potential is even greater and after the Olympics, the potential will be as strong as ever since Rio is the best known and simplest term of one of the most popular, largest cities in Brazil and South America. If you are a long term thinker, then comps don’t mean anything and if the buyer is smart, then he/she could make their return in a year or two. Most investments can’t compare to the returns of great domains! So whether you think Rio.com is an incredible name or not, it is still worth over $3 million in relation to any other business investment out there for the return.
Kevin
@ Alan
Alan,
$3 Million isn’t looked at as”pocket change” to anyone anymore. Even the wealthiest people on the planet are being more careful, hesistant and prudent than ever in their investments.
Potential? You could buy Brazil.com for $500,000 and save the other $2.5 Mil for advertising and marketing vs paying $3 Million for Rio.com.
What exactly is the potential you’re speaking of anyway? Do you know how much capital you need to really take a domain to the major leagues of development. I assure you it’s way more than a couple mil needed to do things in a big way.
Make their return in a year after paying $3 Million for just the domain???? Sorry but the real world just doesn’t work that way. Ask anyone who has bought a million dollar domain.
And no Rio is not worth $3 Million and not even close to that.
AlanR
Kevin, I’m pretty sure I know what you are up to! LOL
Kevin
@ Alan
I should clarify my statemnt in the respect that I’m referring to Rio.com as a stand alone domain. I have no idea what the current business that is on the domain is worth and I’m assuming that is not going to be included as part of the sale.
Coniston
@ AlanR , 99% of the people at Traffic and all domain auctions are resellers, domainers, domainer/developers etc
Rio has possibility it could get to 7 figs IF there was a true enduser in the room, which i doubt there will be, THEN for any auction to explode you need TWO endusers, or people with deep pockets that want it
my prediction is $350,000 top whack imho
in the right hands the name can make a mint, but there are only a handful of people that can make the sort of requisite money from this domain. specialist travel agents, or the brasilian government/ tourist office. there are also ridiculous wipo decisions going on all over too, so people are really worried about that. yes i know its geo etc, but we all know wipo is corrupt and retarded
AlanR
Kevin,
I think if the media gets wind of this auction in the wake of the announcement of Rio hosting the Olympic games in 2016, then I would think that CNN or others might start covering this and also might be at the auction doing a play by play on this one.
Alfredo
$450,000
AlanR
Coniston,
I could be way off base but we will soon see. There have been a number of domains not as good as Rio.com sell for over $3 million but of course, most of the buyers were endusers. Assuming that most bidders will be domainers, then yes, this domain could go for low price but I think that if there is any publicity in the media about this sale, then it could fetch a high price. There are some very savvy people in the domain industry who are putting more money and time into development now instead of just collecting domains so I doubt anyone of them would let this domain go for less than $3 million. Whether this domain has a ROI in one year or not, I’m sure by 2016, it would have paid for itself several times over at that price. As a lot of us already know, how many investments out there can give you an ROI like domains can?
Kevin
@ AlanR
Could be. I’ve been hearing rumors Howard Cossell might even pop down to do the play by play on this big one.
:)
AlanR
Yeah, and I heard Elvis is going to be the auctioneer! ;?)
Keith
I will put in a guesstimate of 1,305,000
Kevin
@ Alan
Don’t knock the king, Elvis”Gets it”!
http://www.Elvis.com
:) Weeee haaaa the King lives on! LOL
Algis
$615,000
Sam
$675,000 :)
Glenn
$817,000
jr
Man, those old posts from the YNOT/NP days take me back. Rick’s posts were so inspirational to me at the time and the ring of truth in them was self-evident. If you weren’t around at the time, what’s interesting besides the vision is the bravery…those posts weren’t in a vacuum.
There were believers, as all of us here would be, but there were detractors as well and Rick knew they would be responding with their typical stupidity. As history would have it, a majority
of them are now flipping burgers..
steven
$410,000
Brett Gilmour
It will go for $415,000
Steven
What a nice name …
1,666,000$
Bernard
$525,000
Iain Taylor
My guess is that it will go for $2.5m
It will be interesting to see how this values as we have a very large range in opinions on value, from $nil to $3.6m – clearly we all apply a different context when assigning value, that is what makes this an interesting industry…
Richard St Cyr
I think rio.com could go for
1,450,000.00
Steve Smith
Rio.com will trade for $750k.
ben vardag
$845,000
jin
it wont sell!
LS Morgan
$1.650.000
Scott
$1,444,999.00
nicholas kamau
1.75 mill
Ross
@Andrew Douglas
“Brazil at $500k was way below it’s true value as the sale was rushed due to it being essentially a forced liquidation. It was also before the selection of Rio for the Olympics. If you think that’s not a big deal, I’m not sure we are on the same planet.
Rick Latona has already mentioned that they’ve spent months working on getting the right buyers to the table for this auction. I don’t think the sale of Brazil is a good indicator for Rio as they are totally different circumstances.”
I think you miss the reasoning and the boat on valuation of this domain name.
Past sales, especially, recent ones play a big part in how much someone is going to pay or willing to pay for a certain name. Considering that Brazil.com sold for 500K regardless of what the circumstances were, that was the price it sold for. Now also taking in to consideration that”rio de janeiro” is in BRAZIL you have to knock the name down a couple of notches. Also on top of that”Rio” is not even the ‘official’ name of the city, rather a short version. Its like calling”United States of America””America”.
Now putting all this together even taking in the recent decision of ‘Rio de Janeiro’ as the chosen Olympic stage in the 2016 plus the nature of a three LETTER domain, you still can NOT trump Brazil.com.
This sale is like buying ‘MexicoCity.com’ over ‘Mexico.com’ it is simply going to be worth less.
molassess
$900,000
Rob
I’ll go with $665,000.
Dale
$995,000
Maestrus
US$365,230
Roberto Riccio
$3,100,000
nSathees
@Kevin
Brasil.com sold for 500K!
nSathees
So, brasil.com is worth over 3 million now?
Danko
685,000USD
Danko
Edit(because of two same):
685,500USD
fizz
440,000
Rick Schwartz
Voting is now closed. I am amazed at some of the low ball numbers. This domain will fly today. It is # 16 on the auction list so we will know fairly early.
Happy Bidding!!
Troy
“$450,000 would be my guess just slightly under what Brazil went for.”
I looks like Kevin with Big Ticket Domains won this one. Congrats. I guessed a couple hundred thousand too high. Better than all these million + guesses though.
Kevin
We have a winnner!
And $450k it was . . .
:)
Kevin
http://BigTicketDomains.com
http://DomainsNewsletter.com
fizz
Congrats to the TWO people who guessed $450,000: Kevin and Alfredo.